Quick Hotel Tips

[whitneytheninja]

Hello! I've worked at the front desk of three very different hotels over the last four years, and I've got a handful of tips you may want to consider. I've never been a cast member and I doubt any of these tips will help someone staying on-property, but for offsite guests, here are some quick thoughts, based on my experience. Of course, your mileage may vary!

• Check online for great deals at a property you're interested in, then call and see if the hotel will match them for you. Okay, I know this sounds weird, but at one hotel I worked for, we'd regularly match internet rates. If someone saw a rate of $86 on Travelocity, we'd only get something like $60 from them after their fees. We were happy to match the price to get those extra dollars for the property. The benefit to you is that you won't be prepaying for a hotel room, and if at the last minute you find a better deal somewhere else or you decide that the place is unclean, unsafe, or unaccommodating, you have more leverage to change plans. Hotel cancellation and early check-out policies are a million times easier to navigate than third-party booking sites. Do you want to have to monitor your credit card receipt waiting to have your money refunded, or do you just want to avoid that hassle altogether? Of course, getting a refund assumes you can get a hold of customer service for the internet rooms brokers. Travelocity and Expedia/Hotels.com (they're the same company, by the way) have been decent for guests, but for hotels and customers alike, Priceline is truly challenging to get assistance from when the stuff hits the fan. If you need help and a resolution to your problem RIGHT NOW, Priceline can be terrible for contacting an actual human being. If the hotel won't match the rate, that's fine, but at least you asked. (Also, if you're a member of a hotel rewards club, you get no discount/points for third-party websites, or at least none of the hotels I've worked for has ever provided this. Something to consider.)
  
• Ask to talk to the manager, but not right away. I know, I know, you want to talk to my front desk manager or our general manager or whomever. You don't want to tell your story five times. But I can usually help you with what you need, and I know if you'd be better talking to our Assistant General Manager or our Sales Director or whomever. A lot of hotels empower their employees to negotiate rates. At one hotel I worked at, we had daily rack rates of $99 and "no walk" rates of $75. If someone jumped to asking to talk to my manager, they might get a deal of $80 a night simply because my manager's a better negotiator than I am. If someone said $99 was too high, I'd often be honest and say, "Well, I can go as low as $75, but that's it." The inexperience and genuine desire to please customers of front desk workers can really work in your advantage. Of course, if you're getting nowhere with a front desk worker, feel free to ask to talk to someone who might be able to get you what you want. If you're nice about it, I'll be happy to help. There are some things you need a manager for, and if I'm on your side, I'll be really glad when you get your way.
  
• On that note, make your guest service agent like you. If you can see (or sense over the phone) he or she is busy, tell that person you'll wait while they take a call or help another guest. If I don't feel like I have to deal with the grumpy lady standing in front of me in 30 seconds or less, sometimes I have more time to think of an out of the box solution that will save them money or get them their special request. And if the person is willing to be patient with me, I immediately am on their team and want this person to get whatever they want.
  
• You're more likely to get upgraded if you're staying just one night. I know, you're here for a week and you DESERVE the upgrade more for your commitment to the property, but it screws up our inventory a lot less to upgrade the one-nighters. If I give you a free upgrade that's worth $20 for one night, we can still sell that room three days of the week and be fine. If I take that room out of our selling pool for a week, the hotel loses $140 total. That's a hard thing to explain to a manager.
  
• Plan what you're going to say just once before you call me. It takes a second, and if you ask to make a reservation but fumble for the dates you want to stay with us, I'm going to get annoyed and want to send you to the cyborgs in central reservations. I know the most about the hotel, the traffic, whether the windows open all the way or just a crack, and clever ways to avoid paying for breakfast. You want to talk to me, not the guys and gals in central reservations. They're lovely people, but they read from cards. So have what you need (dates, any special questions you have, your credit card number) and jump right into it. I won't mind, and I'll tell you if you're going too fast.
  
• Night auditors are a secret resource your hotel doesn't want you to know about. In every hotel I've worked at, the night auditors were, with just one exception (this is of a pool of a dozen total), much more willing to dish than their daytime compatriots. They usually have relaxed uniform rules, they deal with 5%, if that, of the guests the morning and afternoon shift people have to interact with, and they tend to be more rebellious. If there's something bad about the hotel, you're more likely to get it from them than anyone else. Think of it: the morning and afternoon shift workers at most hotels have managers around constantly, correcting them when they overstep and listening in to their conversations with guests. They're going to be very careful about presenting anything negative the hotel has to offer. The night auditors in all but the huge hotels are on their own, not constantly on edge because of managers, and have more time to gab. If they're not being harried, you have more time to build rapport with them and get them to tell you things you really want to know about the safety of the area, what the biggest area of guest complaints for the hotel are, and what makes this hotel a good or bad choice. It's not foolproof, but if you've got burning questions about a TripAdvisor review or how 100% the hotel's 100% satisfaction really is, they're more likely than anyone to give up the goods.
  

So that's what I can think of off the top of my head. Full disclosure: I've only worked at mid-level hotels in the $99-$139 price range, and I've worked for one of the big brands of hotel chains as well as an independent hotel. There are a lot of variations from place to place, but I thought you might want insight from the other side of the front desk or phone line. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about lodging, especially as it relates to non-Disney properties and the budgeting side of things. Thanks for reading!

 

[mafibisha]

Thanks, very interesting! I've heard some of these before but good reminders, especially the night auditors!

 

[ksumn1]

Great tips.

Of course, getting a refund assumes you can get a hold of customer service for the internet rooms brokers. Travelocity and Expedia/Hotels.com (they're the same company, by the way) have been decent for guests, but for hotels and customers alike, Priceline is truly challenging to get assistance from when the stuff hits the fan. If you need help and a resolution to your problem RIGHT NOW, Priceline can be terrible for contacting an actual human being.


I worked for an airline as a CSR for a couple of yearsa nd I agree 100% with the above statement. I used to HATE getting calls from customers who had booked a package (with airfare) through Travelocity or Expedia. 9 times out of 10 the Agent form T or EX would speak first "Hi, I have Mrs. X on the phone Airtran Confirmation# XX1XX2, Expedia confirmation# 12344567 on the line. Can you see her reservation?" And then "Mrs. X, have a nice day, {company name} will be happy to fix this for you." And then they's hang up, leaving Mrs. X to explain her sad tale of woe that always included a prolem/mistake with her booking that I COULD NOT FIX, only T or Ex could. The agent knew that, hence the quick intro and hang up. It seems (to me) that the few agents I got at Ex who were helpful went WAAAAYY above and beyond to help but the large majority could really care less, especially if it meant they were going to have to actually work.

As a result, I will book hotels from T, Ex, Hotwire etc but I will NEVER book a package through them. Too many components, and too much of a hassle if there's a problem. I've always had good luck calling the hotel directly. Many times I've found out about road construction, the pool is closed, the restaurant is now closed etc from calling directly that the 1-800 # had no clue about. And if you want undivided attention, call at night. The night auditor is usually so bored they'll talk your ear off!!